Portuguese teachers strike over 'deteriorating’ education system

By Senhan Bolelli

MADRID (AA) - Teachers in Portugal demonstrated Saturday in the national capital demanding the strengthening of the career determination system for public schools and teachers.

The teachers, who took to the streets in Lisbon for a second time in the past month, conducted one of the largest protests in the education system in the history of the country.

Nearly 50,000 people attended the demonstration organized by the S.TO.P. teachers union which represents a small group in the education sector and has been on an indefinite strike since December,

The teachers argued that the education system is "deteriorating every year, the current situation is not sustainable” and emphasized that public schools are lagging.

Demanding a strengthening of public schools, improved working conditions and a salary increase, teachers also opposed the recruitment criteria recently introduced by the government on grounds that it "reduces transparency and politicizes” the process.

S.TO.P. General Coordinator Andre Pestana told reporters that the new criteria was the last straw.

"We want a salary increase that compensates for inflation," said Pestana. "We demand the same retirement conditions as the democratic administration of public schools and other public officials and the right to sick leave."

Because participation in the strike increased with the end of the Christmas holiday and the reopening of schools, affecting thousands of students, the Education Ministry asked the Attorney General's Office for a legal opinion on the legality of the walkout.